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Amnesty International has criticised a draft version of the Penal Code for Discretionary Sentences, which was leaked online in July 2022. The legislation sets out strict punishments for what are often vaguely-worded crimes and fails to guarantee freedom of expression or religion – which caused a diplomatic incident in early March involving a delegation from the US Commission on International Religious Freedom

Bahrain’s ambassador to the UAE Sheikh Khalid Bin Abdulla Al-Khalifa held meetings with rulers and crown princes in the five northern emirates over a four-day period in mid-March

Princess Fahda Bint Saud Bin Abdelaziz and Princess Fahda Bint Abdullah Bin Abdelaziz were both in their 70s and died in mid-March

King Salman Bin Abdulaziz flew into Jeddah on 9 March, amid fresh speculation about his state of health. His son, Crown prince Mohammed Bin Salman followed a few days later

Two of Dubai’s larger real estate developers, Nakheel and Meydan, are being handed over to Dubai Holding, the investment group owned by the emirate’s Ruler Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al-Maktoum

Two former managers of PetroSaudi International, a company set up by Prince Turki Bin Abdullah, are facing bribery, money laundering and other charges over a 2009 deal with Malaysia’s 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB), which has been at the centre of a major corruption scandal for the past decade

A long-running investigation into millions of dollars’ worth of bribes paid to Prince Miteb Bin Abdullah and his associates in 2007-10 has ended with the two defendants walking free from a London court, after successfully arguing the payments had been approved by the British and Saudi authorities. One defendant’s lawyer told the court his client was being prosecuted to deflect attention from the UK government’s decades of dubious payments in the Gulf

In a further accumulation of jobs in the ruling family, President Sheikh Mohammed Bin Zayed has named his daughter Mariam as deputy chair of the Presidential Court for National Projects while his son Theyab has a new senior role at the Presidential Court for Development and Fallen Heroes’ Affairs

The issue leads with an examination of how the Al-Salman gained unparalleled political and economic power in Saudi Arabia. GSN's analysis of key figures in 88-year-old King Salman Bin Abdelaziz’s ruling group shows how power has become concentrated to an unprecedented extent in the monarch’s immediate family and their close aides. GSN's coverage includes a new family tree and influence chart, with linked profiles, which shows an Al-Salman ruling group that could dominate the Saudi polity long after King Salman Bin Abdelaziz’s reign is over. Politics coverage leads with Iran, where  turnout for 1 March parliamentary and Assembly of Experts elections was the lowest since the 1979 revolution. GSN takes a closer look at the power of Iran's clerics and presents new profiles of the key clerics surrounding Ayatollah Ali Hosseini Khamenei. GSN also examines the latest developments from Kuwait, where another election is scheduled for 4 April, following Emir Sheikh Mishaal’s mid-February dismissal of parliament. Most outgoing MPs are seeking re-election and there is little reason to think the fourth poll in four years will do much to solve deep political and economic problems. The Risk Management Report is on Iraqi Kurdistan. The GSN View focuses on how the UAE has set its sights on carving out a leading international role in the fast- developing field of AI.  

Revised March 2024, this map illustrates Mohammed Bin Salman's various reforms and initiatives. Public Investment Fund (PIF) megaprojects, regional development companies, PIF-owned football clubs, towns/cities with cinemas and other points of interest are charted. The map is available as a PDF file using eps graphics, meaning that there is no loss of resolution as the file is enlarged.

Published in March 2024, this family tree illustrates the political and economic power of the Bin Salman branch of the Al-Saud ruling family across Saudi Arabia's political and business environments. Analysis of key figures in King Salman Bin Abdelaziz’s ruling group shows how power has become concentrated to an unprecedented extent in the monarch’s immediate family and their close aides. The family tree  and influence chart shows an Al-Salman ruling group that could dominate the Saudi polity long after King Salman Bin Abdelaziz’s reign is over. Past changes in the kingdom’s leadership have seen power and influence flow between the immediate descendants of the founder King Abdelaziz (Ibn Saud), but Salman has set the scene for a succession to the next generation and one which favours his own offspring. Names of key individuals link through to Key Player profiles, with supporting articles from the extensive GSN archive.

Kuwait's recently-appointed emir travelled to the UAE in early March, following on from trips to the other members of the Gulf Co-operation Council in the opening months of the year

Dubai Ruler Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al-Maktoum reshuffled the top team at the Dubai's State Security Department via a series of decrees in early March

Official figures showed turnout of just 41% at parliamentary and Assembly of Experts elections on 1 March, the lowest of any election since the 1979 revolution. While the authorities called for a festival of democratic expression, those abstaining including former president Mohammad Khatami.

Waves of appointments by King Salman since 2017 have seen younger-generation royals and those from more remote branches of the ruling family appointed to prominent positions, in a break from previous monarchs’ habits